Will Platinum Creator do the job?

[jasta]

I am new to computers. I have the basic Easy CD Creator that came with my Dell Inspiron 8100, with 20 GB of free space. I would like to transfer analog VHS tape to CDR. If I get the Platinum version of Creator, is there anythng else that I need to get? Do I also have to get a video card?

Thanks

[kayfam]

I am new to computers. I have the basic Easy CD Creator that came with my Dell Inspiron 8100, with 20 GB of free space. I would like to transfer analog VHS tape to CDR. If I get the Platinum version of Creator, is there anythng else that I need to get? Do I also have to get a video card?

Thanks

In answer to the first part of your question skip Easy CD Creator Platinum entirely and get yourself a copy of Nero or for that matter any other burning software first. Since Roxio took it over from Adaptec it's been a piece of crap from my experience. They have patched that software so many times to date it's not funny. Sure it's a nice piece of eye candy as far as the GUI is concerned, but it's functionality leaves much to be desired and I'm sure most here would agree. Don't take my word for it, just take a trip over to Amazon.com and look at the reviews for ECDC.
I switched to Nero over a year ago and have been happy ever since.
In regards to the second part of your question you didn't state whether you already have an existing capture card or not, but I'm going to assume not. Your best bet is to browse thru the Capture card section of the forum: http://www.vcdhelp.com/capturecards and decide what features your looking for in a capture card. Myself I'm somewhat biased towards ATI (bought 3 in 3 years) and think it's the best buy at the moment but by no means is it the best out there. It really depends on what features you want and the bottom line is how much money you have to spend.

[jasta]

Thanks for the reply. If I were to go with a DVD writer, instead of my CDR, what different things would I need to do? Would I still need a capture card? Is the DVD capture-convert process the same as the VCD process? Easier or more difficult?

Thanks

[kayfam]

jasta,
Regardless of what approach you want to take (VCD, SVCD, DVD, ect.) if your source material is analogue or digital that requires you to make an external connection to another device such as a vcr or camcorder your going to need some kind of capture device. If your interest is more in the area of converting files that you acquired off the Internet or making legitimate backups of your own DVD's then the answer is no capture card required. I really suggest you browse thru the how-to section of the forum for further answers to the last part of your question.